From golden instruments beaming in the sunlight, to wooden sticks hammering onto plastic, anyone can take the opportunity to march in a performance of a lifetime.
Being in a marching band means staying in step with a group of people and playing instruments to put on a show for the audience. Ranging from woodwind instruments and bass instruments, to percussionists and color guards doing their thing, a fantastic show can be lined up to keep a crowd entertained. However, there is a lot of practice that goes into every show.
At SLHS, band students take a week during their summer vacation to practice for a brand new show each and every year. Students spend their morning and half of their afternoon learning notes and drills. “It feels amazing, like almost breathtaking just knowing that the band worked so hard for our shows. We get to showcase our work and it’s just awesome,” said junior Alexis Hitsman. Although there are many feelings while marching, the schedule might require balance. “On my side, I don’t encounter any problems at all. I would say the only one I encounter is being tired from cheer and then straight to marching,” continued Hitsman.
Not all band students march down at the football field. Sophomore Hudsyn Humble has been playing in the pit since freshmen year, rocking out and shredding the guitar. Being in the pit means playing in the front of the football field without marching. According to Humble, “I like the pit way better although it makes me feel lonely sometimes, but I feel so cool just standing there with my guitar. On the bad side, there are always bees chasing me. There was one time I put my guitar down and there was rain that poured onto it. I thought it was legit gonna blow. Anyways, I love the experience watching the band march and see the whole set up.”
Marching band is an opportunity for any students to be involved in. Although the marching part might be easy, playing an instrument while marching is the difficult part. In the long run, students plainly do this to make memories that will last a lifetime.
